The daily checkin and weekly debrief are the most important part of the volunteer program. Volunteers will generally be able to cope with many things going wrong during their stay provided they feel that their issues/concerns are heard and responded to. In fact, if volunteers can feel a part of creating and implementing solutions to problems then this may be a highlight of their stay.
Daily informal personal checkin by volunteer coordinator with each volunteer and guest - how is it going? Any issues - write them down for action. (Resolve issues where possible or take them to management)
If a guest or volunteer is leaving today or tomorrow, check that they are up to date with payments.
Volunteer Coordinator to read through Feedback book, Suggestions/Ideas book, Volunteer Hours Log, Things to Fix book to get an idea of what is there before meeting with volunteers.
Weekly formal debrief/feedback session with all volunteers together and volunteer coordinator and/or Sion/Trudy (managers) - highlights, challenges, suggestions for improving things? Solutions focus and brainstorming on how to deal with issues raised.
It's important to keep a record of what comes up and do something about any issues raised – even if it's just telling people that you won't do anything about an issue and why. Communication is vital – tell people how things are progressing with resolving any issues (e.g. a broken toilet).
Volunteer Coordinator to use Weekly Timetable by Staff Member and Regular Volunteer Tasks as main tools for allocating work to volunteers.
Remember, volunteers are unpaid (they actually pay to be here). Their experience relies on the following.
Best for volunteers to work with others (either staff or other volunteers). This is more enjoyable, unless they indicate a desire to work alone.
Volunteers work best doing what they are interested in.
Get feedback and evolve the system for managing volunteers and managing things at Belipola
Give volunteers increasing responsibility over time (if they seem up to it)
Give volunteers a variety of different tasks
Ongoing communication is important – what they will work on tomorrow, resolving issues, etc
Explain how the job they are doing is making a vital contribution to the vision of Belipola (even if it's something as mundane as sweeping paths). This makes the work worthwhile.
Say thank you. Show appreciation and gratitude. Find things that they have done well to praise them for.
Problem Volunteers
Remember: volunteers are here to help Belipola achieve its goals. If they consume more energy than they give then take immediate action.
Address any issue as early as possible. Be clear and direct in telling them what they are doing (or not doing) that is not working and the impact of this. Also tell them (or create together) the alternative that you want to see. Be sure that they understand and ask them to say back to you what they have heard you saying. If necessary, write it down with them. Then finish by saying something you appreciate about them and/or their contribution.
If there are too many issues and/or the volunteer doesn't change their behaviour then have the hard conversation with the volunteer. Tell them directly what is not working and the impact of this. Tell them that the impact on Belipola is too high and so they will need to leave. If they really want to stay and you think there is a chance of things working well and you are wiling to put the work into it then ask them to write up for you a contract about how they will change their behaviour and the consequences/punishments (horrible word but can't think of a clearer one at the moment – $ fines could be a good idea as a punishment) if they break any element of the contract. Review the contract with them and adjust it to ensure it benefits Belipola.
If the volunteer is just not doing enough work then tell them they can continue on as a paying guest. It can be damaging to volunteer morale to have a volunteer around who is lazy.
The forms are stored on Google Drive as a Word Document. Send a pdf version to the printer to ensure the format is not messed up on his computer. Specify with the printer what page numbers you want printed.